Apple Snow Leopard Overview
Wed Jan 13 13:00-17:00 PST 2010
San Jose, Hilton
TO INVESTIGATE:
* Built-in Single-Signon and kerberization of apps *
* iPhone profile on commons web page: VPN, calendar caldav, mail config, LDAP/Contacts
* OS X Server on every subnet? (or router forwarding helper)
* Mobile Me: cloud sync of stuff, e.g. your contacts. But Address Book server can do same.
* LBL participation in iTunes U... podcast producer may be an easy way for scientists participate and PUBLISH to iTunes U easily
* User Services Expertise, like "automator"
* Where is my Apple Remote Desktop??? Find/play with ARD
* http://www.macosxautomator.com, grab Sal's code to check it out
* running our own software update server?
Eric Zokenka, Operating Systems group
o snow leopard -> a better leopard:
- main goals: refinements, new technologies, microsoft exchange integration
1000+ different projects included in OS X, 90% were updated for snow leopard
o Grand Central Dispatch
solving the multiprocessor/multicore...
A scheduler technology to take advantage of multicore.
o OpenCL
taking advantage of GPUs beyond graphics (over 1Teraflop cards)
MS Exchange integration
Mail, Address Book, iCal: talking directly to Exchange
--
Cheetah (2001) -> Puma (2001) -> Jaguar -> Panther -> Tiger (2005)
-> Leopard (2007) -> Snow Leopard (2009)
UNIX certified OS
OS X Server seems aimed at smallish businesses.
64-bit: better leverage the hardware: using physical RAM
process scalability: 2500 processes max under 32-bit (because of ram?),
file server performance (smb): OS X server v10.6 2.3x faster than v10.5
under SPECsfs2008. NFS 2x faster.
Setup and Deployment
()networking, ()setup server, ()configure clients
Automatic Network Integration
IP,..., *firewall*?
Directory Services
Open Directory
Active Directory Integration
users, group lookups, authentication
Set-up Experience:
--
Nader Nafissi - walk through demo of server setup
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Server Preferences vs. Server Admin
Server Preferences:
follows the metaphor of "System Preferences", mean for smaller IT teams.
Server Admin:
advanced tool. Much more granular view of all services. Aggregate
servers into groups, or "smart groups" (based on load, etc.)
Fine grained access control. Can set up DNS, NAT, Radius authentication.
Can also manage all of the server admin from command line.
OS X server can talk to local LAN resources, like configuring the
Apple Base station and firewall rules from the OS X server.
Automatic Client Configuration: desktop
Auto-push out user configuration (mail, calendar, etc.)
Auto-push out iPhone configuration (device config, apps, security policy,
calendards to subscribe to, wireless network configuration). Create a PROFILE.
This profile is then distributed to local users: sms, or email, or host
profiles on a website and they download.
Bringing up brand new computer, putting it on the network "Connect to
Mac OS X Sever"? user types in username and password, creates a local
account, preferences, created locally, mail account settings. Then
user is done. Settings are "in sync" with server. SINGLE SIGN-ON WITH KERB.
iChat is kerberized, mail. No second login to use Mail.app or iChat.
LDAP connections set up automatically, etc. Calendar config set up.
Automatic Client Configuration: iphone/itouch
going to a web page with profiles
Information for your iPhone webpage: with profile on it.
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Communication Services
- mail server
- ical server: calDAV. google and oracle also use caldav.
- address book server:
- CardDAV (address card sharing)
- ichat server
- wiki server
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Podcast Producer
* capturing content (video camera, imove, garage band, final cut)
* encode (multiple formats for multiple purposes)
* dual-source capture (two sources, local and remote, automatic transitions/chaptering)
Podcast Capture is on everyone's mac already, in Utilities (Snow Leopard)
i-tunes U, integrated with Podcast
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Automation Overview (Sal)
Automation tools:
Automator, Services
(http://www.macosxautomator.com)
Point of Need: example: rotating picture 90"
Automator: images in finder: Save as "Rotate Selected Images" : quit
Created a new "right click" capability under "Services" after "right-click"
"Services functionality" in previous version (<Leopard), hard to use.
Changes to services architecture. Become contextual, services
relating to that particular type of content. "At point of need"
Encrypt a file from a pull down. Encode a movie, etc.
Services architecture to "data detector" architecture. Example, he
highlighted an address, right-click, "show me people near this".
Highlighted a phone number, "show me a map of that area code".
Automator is an easy way to make these kind of contextual services.
Example, sorting a list of names to sort a list in any text field
in the operating system. Automator -> Service template -> input bar:
- what kind of data do you want your service to work upon, - what kind
of application? (any application) -> "replace selected text" ->
"run shell script" using any shell/perl/python, etc. He called the "sort"
program. Wow. Then assign keystroke to services. Services you create
can be mapped under Preferences -> Keyboard -> Keyboard shortcuts.
Administrator Tasks and tools:
"apply UNIX command to seleted tasks via a keystroke"
"New terminal window in that folder"
"Insert selected finder items into terminal window"
Using automator tools and actions to get internet information without browser.
he selected word, and right clicked -> bring up wikipedia entry on it
Selected content off the wiki, and made a Keynote Pie Chart graph out of it!
A table of budget listing.
REMOTE COMPUTERS
Apple Remote Desktop - ships with over 30 built in "Services"
Automatically SSH into any computer selected in list
So, run a set of command line programs from Automator.
Can also build Actions in XCode with AppleScript, Shell, or Objective-C.
Populating Pages document from File Maker Pro database.
This guy Sal is awesome. He just bought a house in Berkeley.
--
Doug - Server Hardware stuff
Mac MINI severs for smaller shops
Promise SmartStor DS46000 4x1TB SATA Hardware RAID
Xserve - Nehalem processors now included (quad and 8 core)
SPEC performance 2x plus
Integrated lights-out management
IPMI-2.0 real-time power meter
*DAN* PodCast Capture consultant arm of gail and rice
Hackintosh in the Cloud
QUESTIONS:
Q. guy scaling out image processing, wondering openCL
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Q. mini-server package: differences between regular mini and server mini
A. core is the same, no optical drive, faster processor and RAM, 2x 500 2.5" disks spec-ed for 24x7 performance
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Q. geographically distributed workgroup with cloud-services (i.e. base-camp)... but costs are adding up. Love the wiki, but want task management. But that doesn't seem to be part of the wiki services. How can we extend that ourselves.
A. the JavaScript infrastructure is feel to look at and try to extend yourself, there is some code on the Developer's site on how to do that. It's all open and non-proprietry. Some 3rd party solutions have extended that already.
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Q. server DNS question... naming my own server
A. if you have a hostname, you can configure your own hostname yourself
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Q. Quicklook question: Quicklook on wiki, on iphone quicklook is download
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Q. uptake on mac mini-server for households? Software Update server on mini, no tools?
A. seems to be very popular, man-mini adoption, hooked to TV, etc. Targeted at small-business. Not really meant for media services like os x server. IT Administrator pushing out software updates.
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Q. Address Book server clients... want iPhones to sync.
A. Address Book server uses CardDAV (new standard going through IETF for changing client tocontact info over HTTP). Apple opensourced (macosforge) Address Book server. They see CardDAV as being the contact solution. It's a full protocol with syncing, etc. CalDAV to leopard and leopard server first then to iPhone later. Same with CardDAV.
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Q. Snow Leopard with mac-mini a subset?
A. It is full, same, unrestricted, with podcast producer, etc.
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Q. Demonstration today vs. real world.
A. Open Directory Master: wiki master single signlon
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Q. UC Berkeley guy (Russel?) What kind of Db is supporting? SQLite?
Pitching wiki as knowledge base.
A. DOCUMENTATION: apple.com/server (wiki use, client stories).
Wiki: HTML is flat file on disk, we're not trying to put data
into proprietry data: /Libaray/collaboration: HTML content
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Q. Populating the users in Work Group manager, pictures for profiles, etc.?
A. Import for LDIF, or existing Directory, picture records.
